The Golden Herb
by ClockworkScales
Summary: Peter and Sirius get lost in the Forbidden Forest one full moon. Sirius is attracted by the smell of a mysterious plant, and he decides to follow his nose. The smell, however, also urges him to consume the herb. Peter shortly follows suit, unable to resist the wonderful scent. One-shot.


Sirius and Peter had managed to get lost in the Forbidden Forest on a full moon. It wasn't something that happened suddenly, but something they realized after a good half hour of wandering.

A large black dog with a rat on its head had bounded through the Forbidden Forest behind a stag chasing a distressed werewolf. This event was not unfamiliar to Sirius or Peter. The various trails and paths (or the lack there of) that made up Forbidden Forest were not completely unfamiliar to them, either.

However, this was the first time they had managed to chase Lupin into the Forbidden Forest during a full moon. Thanks to a rare slip up (a joint effort), the werewolf had managed to escape from underneath the Whomping Willow and decided that the Forbidden Forest was definitely the best place to be that night.

Sirius and Peter had raced after the stag, Sirius's paws crunching both dry twig and leaf in their chase. It was autumn, but there were some rare trees and bushes that couldn't help but wilt amongst the large evergreen trees that made up most of the forest. The bright reds and dull yellows were lost under the light of the moon and the dark of the night. And so was Sirius and Peter's path. Amongst dodging large branches, leaping over trailing roots, ducking behind firm trunks, and darting into bushes, the sound of the stag and werewolf dissipated and the large dog began to run in the direction of moving bushes and ferns.

When the sound of trotting escaped them, the dog came to a stop and its nostrils widened, searching for traces of their friends. The rat perched and biting onto long thick strands of fur on the dog's head, rolled onto its fat back. The dog's eyes peered to the sky through the thick branches at the moon. The moon was in the very centre of the sky; very bad for making sense of north and south. There were no constellations to be made out of the visible stars. The dog growled and shook its bushy mane. With a soft flump the rat came tumbling to the ground. As it did so, the rat's tail vanished and its paws, head, and body grew larger. In shorter than a split second the rat had turned into the young, fat teenager with a tuft of light brown hair that just passed his ears.

Peter Pettigrew stared at the wolf down his pointed nose, his lips thinning with uncertainty.

'Are we lost?'

The dog growled at the back of its throat. Suddenly, a tall, handsome man with rough features, an unkempt beard and mane stepped forward from where the dog had been. His large hand pulled his chubby friend to his feet by the arm.

'You bet we're lost. And I smell something funny, don't you?'

Peter sniffed, and frowned. 'No.'

'Well, I do!' Sirius scowled. He pressed a hand against his long black robes and pulled out his wand.

Peter followed suit and stammered, '_Lumos_!'

Sirius bounded forward and clasped his hand over Peter's wand tip, and the light that had burst from it was stifled.

'Put that out, you fool!' he hissed. 'Who knows what might have seen that? We need to travel in darkness.'

Peter clumsily muttered a spell, and the light diminished. They were both then painfully aware of the darkness, and that they could barely see each other's faces. The odd rustle of bush was disconcerting, but was thought to be the calm, yet eerie wind. They walked carefully between the trees, Sirius guiding the way for Peter. Sirius, ever the wolf-child, followed his nose. The smell was tantalising, and reminded him of the pleasant things in life; of an evening in front of the fire, the morning sunlight resting on the naked flesh of a lover, good Firewhisky and Butterbeer, and the beautiful and mysterious rock walls of Hogwarts.

They walked for several hours. Sirius and Peter encountered no creature, and they began to wonder if the smell was driving them away. Their stomachs were growling like lonely puppies. Peter held a hand over his belly to stifle the sound, but Sirius's eyes were fixated forward and they did not waver.

They didn't know how long they walked, but Sirius soon parted a tree branch and found the source of the smell. A small, tufty gold plant. Its aroma was indistinct, though pleasant. Its leaves twinkled with gold, its thin stems shimmering. Sirius leaned.

'See, Peter, this will guide us to safety.'

He pulled some leaves off the plant and held some out to Peter. Peter held up his hands and shook his head fervently.

'No way. Have you read about this plant, Sirius?'

'No, but I'm starving. And it seems good enough to eat.'

Peter waved his hand in front of Sirius's face, but his gaze was still intent. Was he intoxicated by its smell?

'You fool! Why do you think all creatures in this place avoid this plant?'

But Sirius wasn't listening. He pushed the plant into his mouth, and chewed. He swallowed, and his eyes glazed over. Peter gulped. He watched Sirius's mouth smile gently, and watched his friend collapse onto the ground, unconscious. Peter shook Sirius's shoulders, but in vain. Where was Lupin and James?

Suddenly, Peter heard the sound of a werewolf calling in the night. He sniffed. His nostrils cleared. He could finally smell the golden plant with its short leaves and long, thin stalk. His eyes glanced onto it, the scent paralysing his senses. He was reminded of his warm bed in the winter, Butterbeer, hot cocoa, and of his friends James and Sirius... He grasped a couple of leaves and placed them into his mouth. The herb tasted slightly astringent, yet with the aftertaste of honeycomb. Peter felt heat usher into his chilly feet and fingers, and drowsiness overwhelmed his mind. He fell in a loud, lumpy heap. Then he dreamt.

Peter felt warm and comfortable. He felt as if a thick woolly blanket had been draped around him, and as if his head was resting against a large, extra feathery pillow. His muscles relaxed. The teenager felt a warm embrace and thought of pretty girls surrounding him and tickling his chin where some stray hairs tended to grow. He petted the girls and held the hand of his favorite... A well-rounded blonde with long hair that hugged her sides. He pushed his body against her breasts and hips and absorbed her warmth, his arms resting daintily at the small of her back. He could have laid there forever...

He was soon rudely awakened, however. When he opened his eyes, somewhat groggily, he saw a stag's antler's prodding him in his bulging stomach. He felt warm, and his vision was blurred. He could still smell the pleasant scents from that golden herb. With a glance he noticed he was pressed up against something. He gulped and drew back, pulling his arms away whatever it was he had been lying against. With a small gasp, he realized had been embracing Sirius! And from the looks of things, Sirius had been hugging him too. The two men, cuddling! As if they hadn't fallen unconscious at all.

Peter transformed into his animagus form to hide his sudden blush, but even as a rat his nose twitched and he scratched his ears with his tiny paws. Sirius, on the other hand, slowly opened his eyelids and seemed disappointed that there was no woman in his arms. He looked at James, the stag, with a raised eyebrow. The stag's head was bowed in the way it did when it knew something funny was going on.

'What did you see?' Sirius queried, his voice waving with weariness.

The stag was unresponsive. James looked at Peter, the rat. Sirius turned into his dog form suddenly, and held its head down for Peter to climb onto. This time, however, Peter climbed onto James's head and wrapped his tail around an antler. He wrapped his stubby rat feet around that same antler. Sirius decided that explanations would have to wait until later.

The animals shared a moment of tension, being reminded of their purpose: find and keep Lupin safe. They then tore themselves away from the golden herb (the remains of which still let off pleasant smells) to dash the Whomping Willow, and then to the Shrieking Shack where Lupin the werewolf was unconscious on the floor with a bruise on his cheek.

It was only as they were getting to ready to sleep in the old mattresses and blankets of the Shrieking Shack as human men, that Sirius asked James what he had seen. James whispered something to Sirius, his glasses twinkling in the darkness.

'I kissed who?' Sirius stammered in response.

Sirius's cheeks went pink and he opened his mouth to protest what James had just told him, but no sound came out. His hardened eyes looked toward Peter who was busying himself, as a rat, in the dusty curtains. The rat's tiny eyes darted to Sirius, then burried its furry head into the faded fabrics. Sirius's face went even redder.

From that day forward, Peter and Sirius vowed to only ever eat strange golden herbs when they were alone. Even if they had dreamed of women, the illusion was completely shattered upon the realisation that they had been acting their dreams, however innocent, with their male friend. It wasn't worth the risk should something more _intimate_ have occured. They slept with uncertainty, curiosity, and embarrassment, hoping that the other didn't sleep walk over to the other's resting place and snuggle up to the other like a long lost couple.

* * *

_A/N: It occurred to me that the characters Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser from Fritz Leiber's stories were a lot like Sirius and Peter's interactions. So I wanted to write a story which was similar in style and story to that but with the HP characters. I think it turned out well, though I can understand a lot of people wouldn't have read any of those stories by Fritz Leiber. Do let me know your thoughts though. I found it fun to write._


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